The board of directors of TheraCell have appointed Gunnar B J Andersson, a world-renowned spine surgeon, as a director of the company and member of its surgeon advisory board, effective immediately. Andersson’s appointment expands the board to five directors, including two spine surgeons.

“Andersson’s 45 years of broad experience across both clinical and commercial aspects of the industry will add a valuable perspective to our board of directors,” said Bradley E Patt, chairman and chief executive officer. “We appreciate his willingness to serve as a director and look forward to benefiting from his judgment and input.”

According to Andersson: “TheraCell has become an exciting and promising company and I am delighted to participate. They have developed an exciting new platform of demineralised bone fibre products and are partnering with a well-established tissue bank to take these initial products to market. These initiatives will help accelerate revenues and give the company credibility. I like the idea of oxygenating the demineralised bone fibre matrix to help cells survive in a deep graft.”

Andersson is the Ronald L DeWald professor and chairman emeritus of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Rush University Medical Center and a spine, back and neck surgeon at Midwest Orthopedics at Rush in Chicago, USA. He was chairman of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery from 1994–2008 and has been at the forefront of spine surgery research and education for more than 30 years.